Latest news:

Motions ask judge to expand federal lawsuit

The Episcopal Church, The Episcopal Church in South Carolina, and its Bishop today asked a federal judge to expand a lawsuit in U.S. District Court in hopes of bringing clarity to the confusion caused when a group led by Bishop Mark Lawrence broke away from The Episcopal Church in 2012-13.

The legal action filed with Judge Richard Gergel on Thursday, March 1, asks the court to declare that the breakaway group has been engaged in false advertising and trademark infringement, and seeks an injunction to prevent the group from using words and symbols that cause confusion about which group they are affiliated with.

The amended complaint also asks the court to identify leaders in the breakaway churches who want to remain with The Episcopal Church, so they can begin working with Bishop Skip Adams and TECSC on transitions aimed at assisting parishioners who want to remain in their churches.Read more here.​

Judge lifts stay in federal court caseFebruary 15, 2018

U.S. District Court Judge Richard Gergel has lifted a stay in a lawsuit over false-advertising and related claims against the bishop of a breakaway group that left The Episcopal Church in 2012, issuing a scheduling order for the trial to begin on or after September 1.

The case, known as vonRosenberg v. Lawrence, had been set for trial in March, but the judge issued a stay in August 2017, putting the proceedings on hold while the parties entered a mediation process.

Thomas S. Tisdale Jr., Chancellor of The Episcopal Church in South Carolina, said TECSC and The Episcopal Church remain hopeful that mediation efforts will be productive.Read more here.

Petition filed with US Supreme CourtFebruary 10, 2018

A petition for writ of certiorari was filed on Friday afternoon, February 9 in the United States Supreme Court in connection with the South Carolina Supreme Court decision involving our diocese and The Episcopal Church.

Motion to dismiss filedDecember 18, 2017The Episcopal Church and its local diocese, The Episcopal Church in South Carolina, have asked the state court in Dorchester County to dismiss a lawsuit filed last month by a group that left the church in 2012.The Motion to Dismiss, filed December 15, is in response to a new complaint filed by the breakaway group on November 19 in the Circuit Court in St. George. The suit cites the little-used “betterments statute” to seek compensation from TECinSC and The Episcopal Church for the cost of improvements made to the properties over the years. The new action followed a decision by the South Carolina Supreme Court on August 2 in favor of The Episcopal Church and TECinSC.Read the Motion to Dismiss here.According to Chancellor Thomas S. Tisdale Jr. of The Episcopal Church in South Carolina, the plaintiffs will have an opportunity to respond to the motion before a hearing is scheduled on the motion. No date has been set at this time, he said.​

Mediation update​December 4, 2017Mediation is in recess until January 11-12 in Columbia. We welcome your ongoing prayer as we continue in this process.

New lawsuit filedNovember 21, 2017A group that left The Episcopal Church in 2012 is again suing local Episcopalians and The Episcopal Church, filing a lawsuit in Dorchester County.Read more here. ​

Supreme Court DecisionNovember 19, 2017Ruling in favor of The Episcopal Church in South Carolina, the South Carolina Supreme Court has denied two motions from a disassociated group and upheld its August 2 decision that property and assets of the Episcopal Diocese of South Carolina, and most of its parishes, must remain with The Episcopal Church.Read more here.​

Mediation updateNovember 7, 2017

At 10:45 am today, Bishop Adams and Chancellor Tom Tisdale announced that the mediation with Senior U.S. District Judge Joseph F. Anderson Jr. has been recessed until December 4-5, 2017.

Today, Bishop Adams and members of the legal team for our Diocese and The Episcopal Church attended a mediation planning session with Senior U.S. District Judge Joseph F. Anderson, Jr. and representatives of the breakaway group involved in federal and state litigation resulting from the 2012 division in the Diocese.

As a result of today's meeting, mediation will take place for an initial three days beginning on November 6, 2017, on all issues between the parties, according to Diocesan Chancellor Thomas S. Tisdale, Jr. As with today's planning meeting, the mediation will take place in Columbia.​

Legal news updateSeptember 26, 2017

Bishop Adams and members of the legal team for our Diocese and The Episcopal Church have been asked to attend a mediation planning session in Columbia on October 4 with Senior U.S. District Judge Joseph F. Anderson, Jr. and representatives of the breakaway group involved in federal and state litigation resulting from a 2012 division. Judge Anderson has been designated as the mediator to facilitate conversations among the parties. The meeting October 4 is intended to work on establishing dates and procedures for the mediation.

In the state case, the South Carolina Supreme Court ruled in favor of the Episcopal Church parties on August 2. Post-opinion motions were filed by the breakaway group seeking a rehearing and asking for recusal of one of the justices. TheEpiscopal Church reply was filed last week, and on September 25, the breakaway group filed a response to that reply. (Find links to these documents on this page.)

No further filings are anticipated, and all parties now await the court's ruling on the motions.

Response asks SC Supreme Court to denypost-opinion motionsSeptember 18, 2017The South Carolina Supreme Court should deny the post-opinion motions filed by a breakaway group on September 1, as they are without merit and offer no legal basis for granting a rehearing, according to a legal response filed Monday by The Episcopal Church and its local diocese, The Episcopal Church in South Carolina.

The response asks the Supreme Court to deny a motion for a rehearing on its ruling August 2 in favor of the Episcopal Church parties. It also asks the court to deny a motion seeking to have one of the five justices who wrote the opinion recused from the case. The motions "present two types of arguments: arguments that are wrong and rehashed, and arguments that are wrong and untimely," the response says.Read more here.​

Legal news updateSeptember 4, 2017Friday was the deadline for a motion for rehearing to be filed in the South Carolina Supreme Court involving the court’s decision on August 2 in the litigation initiated by a breakaway group over church property and assets. Read more here.

Episcopal Church joins federal lawsuitAugust 25, 2017

A federal judge has granted The Episcopal Church’s motion to intervene in a lawsuit over false-advertising and related claims against the bishop of a breakaway group that left the Church in 2012.

The federal case, known as vonRosenberg v. Lawrence, has been assigned to U.S. District Court Judge Richard Gergel, and currently is scheduled to proceed to trial in March 2018. The lawsuit was filed in March 2013, a few months after Mark Lawrence and a breakaway group announced they were leaving The Episcopal Church. The suit involves a claim of false advertising under the federal Lanham Act.

Local Episcopal Church leaders gathered at Grace Church Cathedral on Friday to listen, ask questions, and offer prayers following this week’s state Supreme Court decision on church property in eastern South Carolina.

Three leadership bodies of The Episcopal Church in South Carolina – the Standing Committee, Diocesan Council, and Trustees – held a joint meeting for about 2 hours Friday. About 50 clergy and lay leaders were able to attend in person, while several more attended via conference call.

The topic was the decision, issued Wednesday, that a breakaway group cannot take the property of the Diocese of South Carolina or 29 of its parishes out of The Episcopal Church.​Read more here.

Diocesan leaders to review decisionAugust 3, 2017

Episcopal Church leaders from across eastern South Carolina will gather on Friday at Grace Church Cathedral to review the South Carolina Supreme Court ruling on church property and assets and consider the next steps toward resolving the division and confusion resulting from a breakaway group’s lawsuit against The Episcopal Church.Bishop Skip Adams called the meeting on August 2, hours after the court issued the ruling. Friday’s meetings will include a joint gathering of the Standing Committee, Diocesan Council, and Trustees, three bodies of clergy and non-ordained elected leaders. Bishop Adams also has called a meeting for the leaders of nine congregations that organized as mission churches since the 2012 breakup left them without buildings where they could worship as Episcopalians.

Opening brief filed in appeal to Fourth CircuitFebruary 23, 2016 ​A federal judge’s decision to abstain from hearing a false-advertising lawsuit against the bishop of a breakaway group does not meet the “exceptional circumstances” test, and the case should be sent back to U.S. District Court in Charleston for trial, according to an opening brief filed Monday by attorneys for Bishop Charles G. vonRosenberg with the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit.

Attorneys for Bishop Charles G. vonRosenberg have filed a notice in federal court of an appeal to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit, seeking to overturn a federal judge’s decision to abstain and stay the federal false-advertising lawsuit against the bishop of a breakaway group.

The lawsuit, vonRosenberg v. Lawrence, was filed in March 2013, a few months after Mark Lawrence and a breakaway group announced they were leaving The Episcopal Church. The suit involves a claim of false advertising under the federal Lanham Act. Bishop vonRosenberg is the only bishop recognized by The Episcopal Church and the Anglican Communion as bishop of the Diocese of South Carolina. By continuing to represent himself as bishop of the diocese, Mark Lawrence is committing false advertising, the lawsuit says.

The five justices of the South Carolina Supreme Court spent an hour closely questioning attorneys during oral arguments in Columbia today on an appeal that asks the court to overturn a lower court and return control of the name and assets of the Diocese of South Carolina to the recognized diocese of The Episcopal Church – The Episcopal Church in South Carolina.

The court has no deadline for issuing a decision, but courtroom observers said it is likely to come before the end of the year.

U.S. District Judge Judge C. Weston Houck on Monday issued a stay in a federal false-advertising lawsuit against the bishop of a group that left The Episcopal Church, delaying a ruling until the final outcome of a separate state action that is now before the South Carolina Supreme Court.

The state litigation involves a suit filed by the breakaway group against The Episcopal Church and its local diocese, The Episcopal Church in South Carolina, over control of the assets and identity of the diocese. An appeal in that case is currently before the South Carolina Supreme Court, and oral arguments will take place Wednesday, September 23 at 10:30 a.m. in Columbia.

June 29, 2015The Episcopal Church and its local diocese, The Episcopal Church in South Carolina, have filed a reply brief in their appeal to the South Carolina Supreme Court, detailing reasons why TECSC, and not a breakaway group, is entitled to control the identity and assets of the Diocese of South Carolina.

The “Initial Reply Brief” filed June 25 says TECSC should prevail both on First Amendment grounds and under neutral principles of law. Breakaway groups “cannot band together, co-opt parts of The Episcopal Church itself, and seek to turn those parts of the church into something different. That sort of action is a direct challenge to The Episcopal Church’s polity, and it is a far cry from neutral principles,” the brief says.Read more here.

Hoping for reconciliation, Episcopalians offer to settle lawsuit

June 15, 2015

Episcopalians who are seeking to end the bitter legal battle over church property in eastern South Carolina have presented a settlement agreement to a breakaway group, offering to let 35 parishes keep their church properties, whether or not they choose to remain part of The Episcopal Church.

In exchange, the proposal would require the breakaway group to return the diocesan property, assets and identity of “The Episcopal Diocese of South Carolina” to the diocese that is still affiliated with The Episcopal Church.

“From the beginning of this dispute, we have hoped for reconciliation with people in the churches affected by this sad division,” said the Right Reverend Charles G. vonRosenberg, Bishop of The Episcopal Church in South Carolina. “We see this offer as the strongest possible way we can demonstrate that.”Read more here.

Federal false-advertising case returnsto U.S. District Court in Charleston

June 11, 2015A federal false-advertising lawsuit against the bishop of a group that left The Episcopal Church returned to U.S. District Court today, as Judge C. Weston Houck held a status hearing on vonRosenberg v. Lawrence.

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit had sent the case back to Judge Houck in March, ruling in favor of attorneys for Bishop Charles G. vonRosenberg of The Episcopal Church in South Carolina.

Bishop vonRosenberg is the only bishop recognized by The Episcopal Church and the Anglican Communion as bishop of the Diocese of South Carolina. Mark Lawrence, by continuing to represent himself as bishop of the diocese, is committing false advertising, according to a brief filed with the appeals court in 2014. The suit seeks an injunction against Bishop Lawrence.Read more here.

Appeal asks S.C. Supreme Court to reverse Dorchester County ruling and award diocesan identity and property to EpiscopaliansThe South Carolina Supreme Court should find that The Episcopal Church in South Carolina, and not a breakaway group, is entitled to control the identity and assets of the Diocese of South Carolina, according to the initial brief in an appeal of a Dorchester County court decision.

The 51-page “Initial Brief of Appellants” was filed May 15 by The Episcopal Church and its local diocese, The Episcopal Church in South Carolina.Read more here.

Appeals court denies breakaway group’s motion in federal lawsuitApril 29, 2015The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit today denied a petition for rehearing filed by attorneys for Mark Lawrence, affirming its March 31 ruling in favor of Bishop Charles G. vonRosenberg of The Episcopal Church in South Carolina that sent vonRosenberg v. Lawrence back to U.S. District Court in Charleston.

The one-page ruling from the appeals court comes only 15 days after the petition for rehearing was filed by attorneys who are representing Bishop Lawrence and others who have left The Episcopal Church.Read more here.

State Supreme Court agrees to hear appealApril 15, 2015The South Carolina Supreme Court today granted The Episcopal Church in South Carolina’s motion and will hear the appeal of a circuit court decision giving the name and property of the local Episcopal Church diocese to a breakaway group.

The court also denied a motion from the breakaway group for a greatly expedited schedule in the case, and set September 23, 2015 as the date for oral arguments in the case, saying that no extensions would be granted. TECSC had asked the court to take the case, bypassing the state Court of Appeals, in an effort to avoid expense and delay for all parties.Read more here.

Appeals court remands federal lawsuitMarch 31, 2015The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit today ruled in favor of attorneys for Bishop Charles G. vonRosenberg of The Episcopal Church in South Carolina, and sent vonRosenberg v. Lawrence back to U.S. District Court in Charleston for another hearing. The ruling came in a published opinion from Judge Diana Gribbon Motz, the head of the three-judge panel that heard the case on January 28 in Richmond, Va. Read more here.

Episcopalians file appeal, ask SC Supreme Court to hear the caseMarch 24, 2015The Episcopal Church in South Carolina has filed notice that it is appealing a judge's decision to give a breakaway group the name and property of The Episcopal Church diocese in eastern South Carolina, and has asked the South Carolina Supreme Court to take up the case in an effort to avoid expense and delay for all parties.Read more here.

Motion for Reconsideration deniedFebruary 23, 2015Judge Diane Goodstein today denied the motion for reconsideration filed by The Episcopal Church in South Carolina in the Dorchester County case. TECSC now has 30 days to file a notice of appeal with the South Carolina Court of Appeals. The order can be viewed here.

Motion asks court to reconsider ruling in breakaway lawsuitFebruary 13, 2015The Episcopal Church and its local diocese, The Episcopal Church in South Carolina, today filed a Motion for Reconsideration asking Circuit Court Judge Diane S. Goodstein to reverse a ruling that a breakaway group can keep the name and property of the "Diocese of South Carolina,” even though it has left the church.

The 180-page motion examines the judge’s February 3 ruling page by page, taking issue with “findings of fact” and conclusions in the 46-page order and citing dozens of instances in which the ruling doesn’t fully address evidence, makes incorrect statements, or fails to consider relevant points of law. Such a motion must be filed within 10 days of the order, and the judge must respond to it, before an appeal can be filed.Read more here.

Ruling issued in Dorchester County caseFebruary 4, 2015Circuit Court Judge Diane S. Goodstein has ruled that a breakaway group that sued local Episcopalians over control of the Diocese of South Carolina has the right to hold onto the name and property of the diocese.

The judge’s decision was issued late Tuesday afternoon, more than 6 months after the conclusion of a three-week trial in St. George in July. The lawsuit initially was filed by the breakaway group in January 2013 against The Episcopal Church and its local diocese in eastern South Carolina, which is known as The Episcopal Church in South Carolina. TECSC includes 30 parishes and mission churches in the region who have remained part of The Episcopal Church and the worldwide Anglican Communion.Read more here.

February 3, 2015Ruling awaited in federal appealThe Episcopal Church in South Carolina is awaiting a ruling from the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit after oral arguments were presented in Richmond, Va., last week. Thomas S. Tisdale Jr., Chancellor of The Episcopal Church in South Carolina, represented Bishop Charles vonRosenberg at the hearing on January 28. Bishop vonRosenberg also attended the 27-minute hearing. An audio recording of the proceedings can be found online.Read more here.

January 27, 2015Oral arguments set in federal court appeal

Oral arguments are scheduled to be heard on Wednesday, January 28 in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit in Richmond, Va. in vonRosenberg v. Lawrence, seeking to have the case sent back to U.S. District Court in Charleston to be decided on its merits.

Thomas S. Tisdale Jr., Chancellor of The Episcopal Church in South Carolina, will present Bishop Charles vonRosenberg’s case before a three-judge panel at theLewis F. Powell Jr. Courthouse in Richmond. Twenty minutes are allotted to each side for oral arguments and rebuttals. No immediate ruling is expected. Read more here.

December 3, 2014Settlement reached in insurance lawsuitThe Episcopal Church in South Carolina has reached a settlement with The Church Insurance Company of Vermont of its insurance coverage lawsuit. The settlement brings to an end a dispute in U.S. District Court between TECSC and the insurance company, which is a captive insurance company affiliated with The Episcopal Church. Under the terms of the agreement, details of the settlement are confidential. Read more here.

July 22, 2014TECSC files amicus brief asking U.S. Supreme Court to hear Texas caseThe Episcopal Church in South Carolina joined with two major U.S. religious denominations to file an amicus brief on Monday in support of Episcopalians in Fort Worth, Texas who are petitioning the U.S. Supreme Court to hear a case that could affect the ultimate resolution of a lawsuit filed in South Carolina by a breakaway church faction. The Presbyterian Church (USA) and the Methodist Church joined TECSC as amici curiae, or “friends of the court,” in the brief filed July 21. Read more here.

Circuit Court Judge Diane S. Goodstein today ordered that a trial must begin on July 8 in the lawsuit filed by a breakaway group against The Episcopal Church and its local diocese, The Episcopal Church in South Carolina. Responding to the ruling, TECSC filed a petition with the Court of Appeals in Columbia asking it to suspend the order and delay the trial until a pending appeal can be resolved.

(Update: The petition was dismissed Thursday afternoon by the Court of Appeals.)

Judge Goodstein’s ruling came during a hearing in St. George. The case has been stayed pending the outcome of the appeal filed June 23. TECSC is asking the Court of Appeals to overturn an earlier ruling by Judge Goodstein, and allow Mark Lawrence and three other individuals to be added as parties in the lawsuit.

Normally, a stay means a trial cannot begin. However, at today’s hearing the Judge ruled that the issues to be addressed at trial are not affected by the appeal, and ordered all parties to be ready to proceed with the trial on Tuesday at the Dorchester County Courthouse.Read more here.

Appeal filed over right to add individuals to lawsuit

June 25, 2014The Episcopal Church in South Carolina has asked the South Carolina Court of Appeals to overturn a judge’s ruling and allow Mark Lawrence and three other individuals to be added as parties in the lawsuit filed by the breakaway group that is seeking legal control of the Diocese of South Carolina.A trial in the case is set to begin July 7 in Dorchester County. However, the trial may have to be postponed if the appeal is not resolved by that time, since an appeal automatically stays the case and moves jurisdiction to the Court of Appeals.

TECSC filed a motion in November seeking to have the four individuals joined to the suit. At a hearing in December, Circuit Judge Diane Goodstein indicated she would deny the motion, and said she would issue a written order to that effect – a necessary step before an appeal. The final written order from which an appeal could be made was issued June 6. TECSC filed the appeal on June 23.

The four individuals are necessary parties because actions they took to “withdraw” the diocese from The Episcopal Church were outside the scope of their legal authority and violated state law, according to TECSC’s motion.Read more here.

State Supreme Court dismisses appealMay 7, 2014The South Carolina Supreme Court today dismissed an appeal from The Episcopal Church in South Carolina that sought to gain access to evidence in the lawsuit filed by a breakaway group against local Episcopalians. The lawsuit is expected to be remitted to the Circuit Court in Dorchester County soon, according to Thomas S. Tisdale, Jr., Chancellor of The Episcopal Church in South Carolina. The diocesan legal team is considering the next steps in the litigation, he said. The ruling doesn’t address the merits of the appeal or the issue of whether TECSC is entitled to the documents it was seeking; it only addressed the procedural issue of whether the appeal could be heard while the case is still pending. The issue of the evidence could be brought up again, if necessary, after the conclusion of the case, Mr. Tisdale said.Read more here.

Depositions halted after reminder
from judgeApril 23, 2014Judge Diane S. Goodstein has advised attorneys that the lawsuit filed against local Episcopalians by a breakaway group remains stayed – on hold – until the state Supreme Court has ruled on an appeal in the case, and the taking of depositions has been halted.

According to an email sent to all parties on April 17 by Judge Goodstein’s law clerk, Angel Isla Daniels, “Because the petition for re-hearing is pending in the Supreme Court, Judge Goodstein has advised that the case is stayed until the Supreme Court has ruled on the matter.”

Attorneys for the breakaway group had been issuing subpoenas in an attempt to compel some 14 witnesses to give depositions this month. Those subpoenas now have no legal effect, according to Thomas S. Tisdale, Jr., Chancellor of The Episcopal Church in South Carolina.Read more here.

TECSC asks judge to call a halt to legal ‘misconduct and intimidation’April 9, 2014The Episcopal Church in South Carolina has asked a judge for immediate action to stop members of a breakaway group from abusing the court’s subpoena power by attempting to force witnesses to give depositions in their lawsuit while the case is legally stayed pending an appeal. The group has issued subpoenas for depositions that would begin this Friday, April 11 with George M. Hearn Jr., a member of St. Anne’s Episcopal Church in Conway who holds no formal position with the diocese other than as a church member. In a motion filed Tuesday, TECSC says that the groups calling themselves “The Protestant Episcopal Church in the Diocese of South Carolina” and “The Trustees of the Protestant Episcopal Church in South Carolina” are in contempt of court, and asks Judge Diane S. Goodstein to impose sanctions on the attorneys issuing the subpoenas for violating her stay order.Read more here.

Appeal in federal lawsuit focuses on false advertisingApril 8, 2014Attorneys for Bishop Charles G. vonRosenberg have filed an opening brief with the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit, asking the appeals court to reverse a federal judge’s decision to abstain in vonRosenberg v. Lawrence, and send the case back to U.S. District Court in Charleston to be decided on its merits. The opening brief, filed Monday, narrows the focus of the appeal to one issue: False advertising under the federal Lanham Act. Bishop vonRosenberg is the only bishop recognized by The Episcopal Church and the Anglican Communion as bishop of the Diocese of South Carolina. By continuing to represent himself as bishop of the diocese, Mark Lawrence is committing false advertising, the brief says. The brief asks the Court of Appeals to decide two questions: whether the District Court erred in abstaining from jurisdiction on the false-advertising claim, and whether it also erred in denying the motion for a preliminary injunction against Bishop Lawrence. It also asks that oral arguments be heard in the case.Read more here.

Appeal over withheld evidence moves to state Supreme CourtApril 7, 2014The South Carolina Supreme Court has decided to take jurisdiction of the appeal filed by The Episcopal Church in South Carolina over whether legal correspondence it is seeking as evidence should be disclosed in a lawsuit filed by a breakaway group against the local diocese. A one-paragraph order signed on April 4 by Chief Justice Jean H. Toal states that a motion to certify the appeal to the Supreme Court is granted, taking over jurisdiction in the matter from the state Court of Appeals.Read more here.

Motion filed to halt subpoena “abuse” in state court caseApril 1, 2014The Episcopal Church in South Carolina today asked Circuit Court Judge Diane S. Goodstein to call a halt to a breakaway group issuing multiple subpoenas, and hold them in contempt of court for ordering witnesses to appear for depositions in spite of her ruling that the case has been stayed.Attorneys for the local Episcopal diocese filed a notice and motion to quash subpoenas from the group calling themselves “The Protestant Episcopal Church in the Diocese of South Carolina” and “The Trustees of the Protestant Episcopal Church in South Carolina,” and find them in contempt of court.They are two of the multiple plaintiffs who filed a lawsuit against local Episcopalians in January 2013 in Dorchester County, seeking control of the name and assets of The Episcopal Church’s diocese in the eastern half of South Carolina. Read more here.

Diocese seeks rehearing on right to see evidence

March 26, 2014The Episcopal Church in South Carolina has petitioned the state Court of Appeals for a rehearing on its right to see evidence being withheld by the breakaway group that is suing local Episcopalians for control of the name and property of the diocese. At issue is correspondence between Beaufort attorney C. Alan Runyan and Bishop Mark Lawrence during the period leading up to November 2012, when the breakaway group “withdrew” from The Episcopal Church. Weeks later, the group filed a lawsuit in Dorchester County against The Episcopal Church and, later, TECSC. During the discovery phase of the lawsuit, Circuit Judge Diane S. Goodstein denied a motion by TECSC to compel Mr. Runyan to produce the documents. TECSC appealed the decision in January. On March 18, retired Judge Jasper W. Cureton issued a brief two-sentence order for the South Carolina Court of Appeals, dismissing the appeal on procedural grounds without considering it on its merits. Today, TECSC filed a petition for rehearing, seeking to have a three-judge panel of the Court of Appeals review the case. Read more here.

Federal judge upholds ruling on TECSC insurance coverage for legal defenseMarch 5, 2014 A federal judge ruled in favor of The Episcopal Church in South Carolina again on Tuesday, denying a motion to reconsider his decision that an insurance company must provide a legal defense for the local Episcopal Church diocese in the lawsuit brought against it by a breakaway group. U.S. District Judge Patrick Michael Duffy ruled in January that TECSC’s commercial liability coverage in the policy issued to it by Church Insurance Co. of Vermont provides the local Episcopal diocese with coverage for “advertising injuries.”Read more here.

Notice of appeal filed in federal lawsuitFebruary 5, 2014A notice of appeal was filed today with the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit on a federal judge’s decision not to hear the lawsuit filed by the bishop of The Episcopal Church in South Carolina against the former bishop of the diocese.

The notice of appeal was filed on behalf of the Right Reverend Charles G. vonRosenberg in a suit filed against the former bishop of the diocese, who announced in October 2012 that he was leaving The Episcopal Church.

The lawsuit, vonRosenberg v. Lawrence, was filed in March 2013, seeking to keep Mark Lawrence from representing himself as the bishop of the diocese and asking the court to find that only Bishop vonRosenberg, as The Episcopal Church’s recognized bishop, should control the name and marks of the diocese. Read more here.

Federal judge denies motion for reconsiderationJanuary 16, 2014U.S. District Court
Judge C. Weston Houck has denied a motion asking him to reconsider his decision
in August
to abstain from and dismiss a federal lawsuit against Mark Lawrence.Read more here.

TECSC files appeal seeking attorney correspondenceJanuary 14, 2014The Episcopal Church in South Carolina has asked the South Carolina Court of Appeals to overturn a judge’s ruling and grant the continuing diocese access to vital documents from the attorney who represented it before the schism, and who now represents the breakaway group led by Bishop Mark Lawrence. The appeal, filed Monday, has the effect of staying the case that is currently before Circuit Judge Diane S. Goodstein in Dorchester County. At issue is correspondence between Beaufort attorney C. Alan Runyan and Bishop Lawrence prior to November 17, 2012 that relates to the Diocese of South Carolina and The Episcopal Church. Mr. Runyan was legal counsel for the diocese prior to that date, which is when leaders of the breakaway group met and purported to “withdraw” from The Episcopal Church. Bishop Lawrence is no longer a bishop in TEC, and Mr. Runyan now represents the breakaway group, which is suing TEC and TECSC in state court seeking control of the diocese.Read more here.

Federal court ruling gives TECSC insurance coverage to defend against state lawsuitJanuary 9, 2014A federal judge ruled in favor of The Episcopal Church in South Carolina on Monday, ordering that an insurance company must provide a legal defense for the local Episcopal Church diocese in the lawsuit brought against it by a breakaway group. U.S. District Judge Patrick Michael Duffy ruled that TECSC’s commercial liability coverage in the policy issued to it by Church Insurance Co. of Vermont provides the local Episcopal diocese with coverage for “advertising injuries.”Read more here.

Affidavit shows long-held plans to leave The Episcopal Church

December 30, 2013

In 2005, when the Diocese of South Carolina was conducting a search for its next bishop, at least one potential nominee was asked, “What can you do to help us leave The Episcopal Church and take our property with us?” according to a sworn affidavit filed in state court. That search process eventually resulted in the selection as bishop of Mark Lawrence, who now leads a breakaway group that says it has “withdrawn” from The Episcopal Church and has filed a lawsuit against the continuing Episcopalians seeking legal control of the diocese. The affidavit, which was discussed at a hearing today before Judge Diane S. Goodstein, is from the Reverend Thomas M. Rickenbaker, a retired priest in The Episcopal Church and former rector of St. Paul’s Church in Edenton, N.C. According to the statement, Fr. Rickenbacker was contacted by representatives of the Bishop’s Search Committee for the Diocese of South Carolina in 2005 and asked if he would consider being nominated to succeed the Right Reverend Edward L. Salmon, Jr., as Bishop. Fr. Rickenbaker said he responded positively and later was visited by Gregory J. Kronz, chairman of the search committee, and Paul Fuener, another member of the search committee. The three met in Fr. Rickenbaker’s office at St. Paul’s, and the affidavit states, “The first question posted to me was, ‘What can you do to help us leave The Episcopal Church and take our property with us?’. I said I was not interested in that course of action in any way shape, or form; and that I was greatly disappointed that the question was even being asked.” When Fr. Rickenbaker asked why the question was posed, “Father Feuner responded by saying that, ‘We are looking for a bishop who will or is willing to lead us out of The Episcopal Church and take our property with us’, according to the affidavit. A few weeks later, Fr. Rickenbaker said he was notified by Kronz that he had been eliminated from the selection process. “This affidavit shows that there was an intention to leave The Episcopal Church,” said Thomas S. Tisdale, Jr., Chancellor of the diocese. “As we move ahead with discovery, we expect we will continue to see more evidence that what has happened is the result of long-held plan to gain control of the diocese and take it out of the Church.” The affidavit supports earlier court filings by The Episcopal Church in South Carolina saying that the 2012 “withdrawal” of the diocese from TEC was the result of a scheme on the part of several individuals that already had begun during the bishop search process. In today’s hearing, Judge Goodstein denied a motion from TECSC to have four individuals -- Mark Lawrence; Fuener as a Standing Committee president; Jim Lewis as Canon to the Ordinary of the diocese; and Jeffrey Miller as a Standing Committee president – added to the suit. TECSC has said the four are necessary parties to the suit because actions they took to “withdraw” the diocese from TEC were outside the scope of their legal authority and violated state law. Judge Goodstein said she did not find that the individuals’ actions were different from those that were taken by the plaintiffs as a group. She also denied two other motions filed by TECSC asking her to reconsider earlier decisions in the case. Chancellor Tisdale said the diocesan legal team will wait to review the judge’s written orders before determining whether to appeal today’s rulings. Also at the hearing, the judge announced that a trial in the case cannot be scheduled until July at the earliest; a date will be set as soon as possible. All parties in the case agreed to a timetable that would have all discovery in the case completed by May 2.